Lunar
Lander was a vector
graphics game (like
Asteroids) released
by Atari in 1979.
Although it was not
as successful as
Asteroids, it was
still available in
various places that
we frequented. We
remember this game
being very
challenging to
play. The objective
of Lunar Lander was
to pilot a lunar
landing module as it
touches down on the
moon’s surface. As
the lander comes
down, the terrain of
the moon is very
rough, and there
only a few places to
touch down. The
tighter the landing
surface, the more
points the player
was awarded. The
lander’s trajectory
was essentially
controlled by a
series of buttons
that both aimed the
nose of the lander,
and controlled the
strength and
duration of rocket
bursts. Play would
continue until the
lander ran out of
gas, or the player
inserted additional
coinage for more
fuel.

Some
of you may remember
playing an arcade
game called Lunar
Rescue by Taitio.
Lunar Rescue was
also released in
1979, and it was
essentially a cross
between Lunar Lander
and Space Invaders.
There were some
versions of Lunar
Lander released for
home consoles. Many
of you might
remember a knock-off
version for the
Commodore 64 title
“Jupiter Lander”.
There are number of
free versions out
there these days for
phones and browsers.